Random

Hi girls! I just have to brag about the one area of my life I've been really consistent in the last few weeks:

The Gym.

Even though I actually like going, I still consider it an accomplishment! When I first started, I couldn't run a mile without stopping, and after working out I had to take a nap. I was extremely sore the first few days, to the point of taking ibuprofin. I weighed 130 lbs.

Right now, I know I can run 2.5 miles without stopping or walking, and I don't always have to take a nap (sometimes I do - I did today, I didn't yesterday). I'm not sore at all anymore, just sometimes a little stiff but not terribly painful. And, I didn't join the gym to lose weight, but I weighed myself today: 127! Even though it's not my goal to lose weight, it was exciting to see some change. And my stomach is already flatter than it was!

I've done the schoolwork I wanted to get done today, and it's only 5 pm. I'm making Reuben sandwiches for dinner and my plans for the evening are to enjoy time with Joe and tidy the house! I'm also going to try to get Joe to show me how to list our unwanted books on Ebay. We'll make some extra money and also decrease the amount of stuff to store/move.

Car situation: Joe tried to drive my car to get the battery tested, but the car died on the way there - in almost the same spot it died for me! He carried a portable charger and made it home fine. I'm still without a car - I'll drive Joe to work again tomorrow, like I did yesterday. I kind of like it, especially picking him up after he's exhausted from a hard day since I can drive and he can just relax, and we can talk. =)

I don't know if I posted this picture yet, but here is the water-soaked bathroom floor from who-knows-how-many-years of leaking. Ew.
















The wood was removed and now there is a hole going under the house. The depth perception is kind of hard to see, but the ladder is actually resting on the house's foundation.
















Here's the piping that's going to be redone. Behind it you can see the house's original cedar walls.

















My adorable father in law:






















Remnants of a bee's nest found in the wall.





















The repiping starts on Thursday! Can't really do anything until then...today Joe asked me if there was anything he needed to do on the house that he could do, since now we're just waiting for the repipe. It usually seems like there's so much to do, but really it's just the bathroom right now!

Here's Wiggle being silly and making a weird face.
















I made molasses cookies the other day. So good! Here are the pictures I took.

I could only make four cookies at a time because they were so big!
















I don't have cooling racks so I cooled them on my tiny plates. Of course that just makes the cookies look even huger.

















I wore an apron I got for Christmas that Oma made me. Sorry my face isn't in the picture but I had a big zit.





















My pretty stack of cookies!





















And finally, a close-up:

















I made brownies last night (the molasses cookies were last week) and I followed a recipe on a blog that Angela introduced me to: Smitten Kitchen. I wanted to make the "heart brownies" featured on the main page but I thought I had white baking chocolate and I didn't. Still, I made the dark chocolate brownies because I had dark baking chocolate. I'd never made brownies with baking chocolate before, only with a mix or with cocoa powder. They turned out really good! I had to bake them for a lot longer than the recipe said; I'm all for gooey brownies, but if I want my brownies to require a spoon, I'll just heat up the batter in the microwave.

Time to go make dinner now! Love you girls, hope your Valentine's Day was awesome!